Key words in this interview TRADITION!!!!!This is the same kind of longing you sometimes have upon turning the final page of a football memoir.Longing to be a part of the team, to have contributed to the tradition. To have your name written among the pages of its history.And the verse “I’m so glad, I go to Southern U” repeatedly in your head. It plays out to the gospel tune, “I’m So Glad that Jesus Lifted Me,” but this version is more jazzy, in a swing kind of way.“I’m so glad, I go to Southern U.”The Tourgee A. DeBose Music Building’s walls aren’t thick enough to contain the singing. Or the music that follows.Any passerby can hear it, probably from as far away as Mumford Stadium’s east side parking lot. That’s where the Southern University Marching Band rehearses. But not tonight.Which might generate a question or two.Rain can’t stamp out tradition, but rumor can throw a wrench in it. And rumors have been circulating throughout campus since last spring that the Human Jukebox has been disbanded.Now, if that proved to be true, there would be no verses of “I’m so glad,” flowing into this part of the campus, would there? Still, some people wonder.And truth is, rain is keeping the band from its practice field on this night. But rain can’t stamp out tradition, so all 215 members rehearse in the band room dominating the far end of the music building.Yet rumors still run rampant.“It all started with the hazing incident last year,” Lawrence Jackson said.He’s been Southern University’s director of bands since 2007, stepping into the job upon legendary director Isaac Greggs’ retirement. The incident to which he refers made headlines last November when two band members were hospitalized after being hazed as part of an initiation into the band’s unofficial “Mellow Phi Fellow” mellophone fraternity.Jackson opted to temporarily disband the band in the spring semester and require each member to reapply. “That way, we could sit down for one-on-one conversations with the students,” Jackson said. “We wanted to learn about them and find out what’s going on.”The band missed appearances in two Mardi Gras parades during the hiatus.Then the rumors began circulating.No band now. No band in the fall. Can you imagine it? The Jaguars without their Jukebox?Jackson couldn’t.“People started calling and e-mailing me about it,” Jackson said. “And people are still coming up to me on campus and saying, ‘Just hang in there. The band will be back.’”But it hasn’t gone anywhere. Walk by the band room on this particular Thursday evening, and you’ll see.No. You’ll hear.“I’m so glad …”It’s one of the band’s standards played at Southern’s home football games. And you can’t help but be glad upon hearing it, glad that it’s fall and the Human Jukebox is fully intact.“Well, actually, tomorrow is the day they’ll find out if they’ve officially made the band,” Jackson said. “It’s our final cut.”Jackson aims for between 200 and 210 band members each year. Some prospective members have already been weeded out during the pre-season, but the day of reckoning is fast approaching.“We’re looking at cutting it down to 205 members this year,” Jackson said. “Each year, the freshmen have to compete for a spot, and the returning upperclassmen have to compete for their spots.”But the competition doesn’t stop there. The band fields only 176 marchers at each game, and members charted in the show may come face to face with a challenge during the season. If the challengers beat them out, then the marchers find themselves sitting in the stands during halftime.It’s just the way of things, and it keeps all band members at the top of their game.“It can be intense,” Adrian Carr said. “But it’s OK, because it keeps us at our best.”He’s a junior from New Orleans majoring in marketing. He’s also section leader of the tenor drums and assistant section leader of the drumline.He stands outside the band room with fellow band members Travis Richard, Evan Cooper and Tevin Coleman.Coleman doesn’t have to wait until Friday before learning if he’s made the final cut. His fate was sealed last spring when he was named drum major.Not bad for a sophomore.“But that doesn’t pose a problem with upperclassmen who are older than me,” Coleman said. “We have a chain of command here, and it’s a matter of respect. I rank above the section leaders, and the section leaders rank above the band members.”Coleman is majoring in secondary education with hopes of becoming a history teacher. True, he’s the drum major, but no, he’s not majoring in music.But that isn’t anything unusual in this band. Check out the majors of Coleman’s fellow band members.Richard is a senior tuba player from Opelousas. He’s majoring in mass communications and planning a career in public relations. Cooper is a freshman in the baritone section. His major is business management.“Only one-third of the band is on scholarship, so two-thirds of our band is non-music majors,” Jackson said. “And that really says something about Southern. The students don’t get any kind of stipend, either. They’re here because they want to be here — their heart is in it, and they have a passion for it.”Jackson doesn’t have to prove his statement, either. Band members are proving it for him when they show up at 3 p.m. for section rehearsals which don’t officially begin until 4 p.m.But they’re already here in their white T-shirts and navy blue shorts. Oh, and don’t forget the white socks and white tennis shoes — plain white tennis shoes. No stripes or name brand emblems allowed here. Everyone must look the same. It’s a rule implemented by Greggs and carried on by Jackson. It’s all part of the strong tradition by which this band abides.“When you think of the Tiger Band at LSU, you think of those first four notes in their pre-game show,” Jackson said.“That’s tradition,” Jackson said. “And everyone looks for that, just like everyone looks for our traditions here. Our tradition has always been our sound. We have a strong brass sound, and we arrange our music to accommodate that sound.”Southern also is known for its marching style and precision.“We also have a style of marching we call the Southern style,” Jackson said.He stands, holds up an invisible trumpet and marks time. This is marching, but add a sway from one side to the other, and it becomes the Southern style of marching.Freshman are drilled on this during preseason practice, just as they are the music. Fight songs, the “Star Spangled Banner” and the “Southern University Alma Mater” are first on the list. They’re followed by the marches, many of them written by John Philip Sousa.“We play the fight songs and the marches,” Jackson said. “The marches are important, because we are first and foremost a marching band.”Which brings up a third tradition. Southern is known for its precision drills and formations of perfectly straight lines. That’s not an exaggeration. Any Southern fan will bear witness to this. And proof is readily available on DVDs filled with the band’s performances from past years.Jackson pops one of the DVDs into his computer and calls up Southern’s halftime performance at last year’s Bayou Classic game against Grambling State University in the Louisiana Superdome.This is the game where the band spelled out Jan. 20 in honor of the upcoming inauguration day, then immediately segued into letters spelling out President Obama’s name.But before this, there were the drills, the lines, the diamonds and chevrons, all formed by eight-to-five steps. That’s eight steps to every five yards for those not familiar with marching band terminology.And each of those steps is a high step, where knees are lifted high, and the thigh is parallel with the ground. It’s something every band member must master, something even seasoned upperclassmen must reintroduce themselves to upon joining the freshmen in preseason.“We continue practicing the music when the upperclassmen arrive,” Jackson said. “Then, in the evening, we go outside and drill them on marching. And then you see it, when everything starts coming together, the music, then the marching, then the marching style.”Jackson can’t contain his joy. This is probably the highlight of the season for him, because it’s when things come together. New members and old join together in tradition.“The style, the precision — it’s all so exciting to see,” he said. “And it makes you feel so good, because this is the Southern tradition, the tradition I knew when I was a band student, and the tradition that’s still here.”A tradition that will always be here.“That’s what I’ve been telling everyone,” Jackson said. “I’ve even had recruits who have called me and asked, ‘Do y’all still have a band.’ Yes, we have a band, and we’ll always have a band.”He’s silent for a moment. His office is immediately outside the band room. There, brass players begin harmonizing in chords, marking the beginning of warm-ups for full band rehearsal.“We’ll play in here until 5 o’clock, then break for dinner,” Jackson said. “Then we’ll meet here at 6:15 and play until 6:45, then line up and march to the field.”But there’s a problem. Clouds have been growing darker and threatening rain, and Jackson’s number one priority is to keep his band safe and healthy, which was one of the reasons for last spring’s disbanding.If any of the students was having problems of any kind, they could tell Jackson and his staff about them in their one-on-one interviews. Health is important, and most times the band can accommodate for these problems.“But we have to know,” Jackson said. “There are a lot of things we do that some students with health problems might not be able to do. And I know there are a lot of students these days with upper respiratory problems. They can still march, but we have to make sure they stay healthy.”Which is why he sent one freshman member to a pharmacy for an inhaler on this particular afternoon. She returns, showing that she’s now equipped and ready.This encounter brings up a question. The freshman wears a plain, white T-shirt. In fact, all freshmen and upperclassmen are in plain shirts. Only a few wear T-shirts with the Southern Band emblem of an “S” intertwined with an eighth note.“Our section leaders are the only ones who get to wear the T-shirts with the emblem during preseason practice,” Jackson said. “The other band members will be presented with their shirts after the final cut. We’ll have a ceremony, where the names of those band members who make it will be called out.”There will be tears, some of relief, some of pure joy. And yes, some of sadness.“It’s always a very emotional day for us,” Jackson said. “And it’s really something to see their faces when they receive that shirt with the ‘S’ on it.”That’s when they know their work has paid off. The preseason schedule of early morning practice extending late into the evenings. The constant repetition of music and marching. And the protocol, where those in upper ranks are addressed in terms of sir or ma’am.It all combines in becoming a part of the band – this band.A band in which Jackson was a member in the 1970s, a band in which assistant band director Nathan Haymer was a member from 1997 to 2000.Haymer was band director at Washington-Marian High School in Lake Charles before returning to Southern as an arranger. This was the same school, in fact, that D’Tara Frank attended before enrolling at the university.She’s now captain of Southern’s dance line the Dancing Dolls, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in the 2009 football season. And the Dolls are no different from the band – they, too must compete for their spot each year.“We had over 100 girls who tried out this year,” Frank said. “And we only have 11 spots. The dancers have to know ballet, hip hop, jazz, tap and modern. We look for technique in the first part of the auditions, which is where we make our first cuts. Then we teach them a small dance. We have dancers from Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Atlanta, Ga., in the dance line this year.”Frank is in her third year as a Dancing Doll and her first year as captain. Combine her duties with the fact that she’s majoring in engineering, and what do you have?“A lot of sleepless nights,” she said, laughing.Frank and the dance line now join the complete band in the band room. It’s 6:45 p.m., time to line up and march to the practice field. But threat of rain has given way to a full drizzle, which becomes heavier as the clock edges on 7 p.m.“I don’t want them to get sick,” Jackson said. “So, we’re going to have to wait it out. But we won’t waste our practice time.”Coleman ran the band through warm-ups earlier in the afternoon. His story also is interesting, having served as drum major of the Peabody Magnet High School Marching Warhorses in Alexandria.“Southern’s drum major at the time saw me and said, ‘You’re good — you’re going to be Southern’s drum major one day,” he said. “And that was my goal when I joined the band, to be the drum major.”And that brings up thoughts of yet another Southern tradition, probably the most visual of all.“There are a lot of things we look for in choosing a drum major,” Jackson said. “The top of the list is leadership abilities. But there’s one thing all of our drum majors have to know how to do — they have to be able to do the back bend and touch their hat to the ground. If they can’t do that, they can’t be drum major. That’s a trademark for us.”And can Coleman do this?“Oh yes,” he said, smiling.And he’ll debut his abilities at the Jaguars’ season opener against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Saturday, Sept. 5. The game will be played in Lafayette.“We’re going to be doing a tribute to Michael Jackson,” Jackson said. “Actually, the ULL game will be part one, and we’ll be doing part two at our first home game the following week.”That’s when the Jags take on Central State.There’s the promise of Michael Jackson’s hits, the promise of many of his dance moves to be performed by both the band and Dancing Dolls.And yes. There will be moonwalking.But none of the choreography can be rehearsed at this moment, not with steady rain outside. So, Haymer, then later Associate Director Carnell Knighten, take the podium and lead the band through halftime music.“The first part of our show is marching,” Jackson explained. “That’s the educational part. The second part is when we do the choreography. That’s the entertainment part of the show. And some of the Michael Jackson moves are challenging.”Oh, and there’s one other thing that needs mentioning. The score.Yes, the Human Jukebox can spell out any score that’s on the board at halftime, and usually does, providing that Southern is ahead.“We have four lines, and those four lines know how to make any number,” Jackson said. “The crowd loves that.”And really, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Connecting with both the crowd and team. This is tradition that even rumor couldn’t destroy.Then when the band segues from Michael Jackson to swing, you suddenly get that feeling usually generated by football memoirs, the feeling that makes you long to have been a part of this tradition.You want to join in when the band stands and sings, “I’m so glad, I go to Southern U.”And you do.
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Many bands have lost their tradition and have changed just to fit in, not sticking to what made them who they are today! You can count on your hand, who has stuck to their tradition no matter what!
Many bands have lost their tradition and have changed just to fit in, not sticking to what made them who they are today! You can count on your hand, who has stuck to their tradition no matter what!
Being in a hbcu band and becoming an alumni of it, net worth $1 Billion dollars......being in a hbcu band or an alumni of it and knowing the truth...............$PRICELESS$
Mr. L Jackson interview.
Key words in this interview TRADITION!!!!!
This is the same kind of longing you sometimes have upon turning the final page of a football memoir.
L…
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Being in a hbcu band and becoming an alumni of it, net worth $1 Billion dollars......being in a hbcu band or an alumni of it and knowing the truth...............$PRICELESS$
nuff said...
Jaren said: